World Breastfeeding Week

So, it’s world breastfeeding week hey. Good topic for a #throwbackthursday methinks.

OH THE PAIN! THE AGONY! THE KNIVES IN MY BOOOOOOOOBS!

That is my initial memory of breasfeeding. It bloody hurt. My poor nips cracked and bled. What saved me in the end was nipple protectors – blessed relief! Then the cracks healed up, the boy got bigger, I started holding him higher so he wasn’t dragging on my skin and happy days. It stopped hurting.

Then when the boy was about 9 months old, my milk started to dry up and the let down was taking forever. M was angry with me for continuing as R wasn’t gaining a lot of weight (he never did and never has! He’s a slight little thing even now, though he is still growing like a weed) so I gave up. I wish I hadn’t. Breastfeeding is just SO convenient. I have no shame, so public feeding never bothered me (M hated me doing it though, silly man – it’s not like you can see anything except baby’s head, unless you’ve got a thrashy baby. Which R wasn’t) It turned out later that my thyroid had packed up, which had caused my milk to dry up. Bloody thyroid – it made all my sodding eyebrows fall out as well!

My main memory of breastfeeding is one of achievement. I was so utterly determined to do it, even while it was hurting so badly I wanted to cry, and I didn’t give up until I’d got the hang of it. I’m not a gritting my teeth and bearing it type either. I have so many shoes I have worn once (or never, ahem) because of the fear of blisters, yet I managed to persevere with knife-stabbing agony because I knew it would be so much easier than washing all those sodding bottles and heating up milk. Grub on tap, what’s not to like?

I worry that posts like this seem gloaty. I’m not gloaty, but I am proud. It would have been easy to give up (I don’t go in for all this formula is poison bollocks) but I knew that there was endless washing up and sterlizing to be saved if I stuck with it and I was right. Lazy oiks unite!

I was looking for a picture of me breastfeeding, but I don’t have any. Why didn’t I take any?

So here is one where, I have LITERALLY just realised despite it being on facebook for 4 years, that you can see a breast pad sticking out my top! Ahh, leaky boob days of yore! How I miss them!

breastfeeding

 

 

 

 

 

The Twinkle Diaries

3 thoughts on “World Breastfeeding Week

  1. Zach was a wriggler when he fed but I adored feeding him. I gave up because he was too hungry and I couldn’t manage on feeding him every two hours, 24 hours a day! It was killing me so I had to give up. I missed it so much though, that special time. I have a few photos of my milk drunk baby asleep on my book and I love them! Love your nipple pad slip hehe! Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday

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